Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Summer Fun At The Pool

Whew! It has been a week, let me tell you. Hayden caught a virus that gave him a high fever for several days. He was okay until Wednesday night when he couldn't keep food down. Then he stopped eating and drinking and started to get dehydrated so we took him to the ER Thursday afternoon. The doctor there gave him some anti-nausea medicine that helped settle his stomach, which in turn allowed him to eat and drink and keep it down. It worked, he took a nap, drank milk, felt better then started flirting with the nurses. The doctor was happy with his progress so he didn't have to be hooked up to an IV afterall. Thank goodness. After the fever broke, he got a rash for a few days and that is finally going away. He is just about back to normal and acting like his silly self again.

Over the weekend we went swimming at a family friends' house. Hayden has never been in a swimming pool before but we hoped he would like splashing in the water. He loved the water and was so relaxed by it. Instead of splashing around and having fun, he took a nap- twice! The water was so soothing and he was so relaxed in my arms that he just drifted off. He did have fun lounging in his floaty too. And I have to tell you, he is so darn cute in swim shorts and a cap :-)

I made these bars about a week before my birthday and they were freaking delicious. If you like key lime pie, you will love these. It's essentially the same recipe but in bar form and it uses lemon juice in stead of lime. These bars also have the summery addition of blueberries too, but raspberries or blackberries would be just as good. Heck if you want to use lime juice, go ahead and make them your way. These bars are the epitome of summer- they're bright and citrusy, fruity, tangy and creamy. I made them on an ordinary day but they're the perfect treat to enjoy poolside to beat the heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist. Press crumbs firmly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of prepared pan. Bake the graham cracker crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

To make the filling, combine the egg yolks and condensed milk in a medium bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture is smooth and begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in the 3/4 of the blueberries, reserving some for the top.

Pour the lemon blueberry filling evenly over the graham cracker crust then top with the remaining blueberries. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.

Cool for 10 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate until completely chilled. Cut into bars and serve.

Abby- Hope you enjoyed your summer vacation! I cool the bars completely and don't cut into them unless they are super cold. From there I use a serrated knife and cut straight down, no sawing. Then I wipe the knife clean in between slices to make sure each bar is perfect.

The Blue Faerie- Have you ever had key lime pie? The texture is exactly the same, It's kind of like a thick custard/cheesecake but it's not heavy and it's ultra creamy.

This looks wonderful. Glad Hayden is well...what a scare. I'd like to pin this, but you don't belong to it? I don't know how it all works, but I'd love it if you did have a pin thingy, so we can save it and share your great ideas and recipes. Have a blessed week.

So glad to hear Hayden is feeling better and well enough to enjoy the pool! Oh and these bars! Lemon bars are one of my favorite (non-chocolate) desserts and I love that these have the addition of blueberries. What is it about blueberries and lemon that goes so good together!

Thanks for the recipe! I just made these today, kept one for hubby and gave the rest to friends... Hubby usually doesn't like lemon or fruit desserts but he kept saying this was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe! I'll share it on my blog tomorrow! :)

I’m glad that Hayden got well in time for his pool trip! I think he really enjoyed the water! Who knows, he might become an Olympic swimmer one day, so better get him started while he is young. And a quick trip to the pool is not complete without a mouthwatering dessert. Your blueberry lemon bars are definitely a must-bring snack! Thank you for sharing your recipe!

I made these last night, and they were so yummy! I kind of expected them to be thicker, and even when I froze them overnight, they were still a little runnier than I was hoping for. So it might make it difficult to leave them out at today's party, but I'm sure I'll be making these again for an around-the-house snack! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous- I'm not sure why yours were runny. I've made these countless times (I made them two days ago) and they've always set up just fine. Maybe next time you could bake them for a few more minutes til they firm up. Sorry that happened to you but I hope you like them enough to try again!

Not sure why but my batch wouldn't cook. We continuously had to keep them in the oven. After at least 25 min they had only just started cooking. They never actually cooked all the way through or got the right consistency but the crust and top were starting to over cook so we just left them alone. The concept sounded yummy just not sure why we had such a hard time with them.

I made these yesterday and they are really delicious. I did have a little trouble cutting them in the pan. I cut the first half in the pan and then put the rest on a board and was able to get much neater edges. Is that what you do? I can't wait to try some of your other recipes!

You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13-inch pan. You might be able to increase the fillings amounts as well but I'm not sure about the baking time. If you try it, let me know how it turns out.

Is there anything I can use to replace the egg yolks? I'm assuming they're there to add richness to the bars and sort of thicken them up? Also, one last question, if I were to bake it in a 9x9 (since I don't have an 8x8) would it drastically thin out the bars?

Has anyone made this using a pre-cooked graham cracker crust? Thanks. And to Monica: several people asked you how you cut the bars so perfectly, but you never answered that question. Please let us all know. Thanks!

They don't usually come out looking quite this neat. In this case, I used a spatula to transfer the bars to a cutting board. I used a large knife to cut straight down, never a sawing or dragging motion. I wiped the knife clean in between each cut.

Pre made crusts have never been that flavorful to me. You can try one and see how you would like it. They aren't as sturdy wait her but this recipe should fit into a pre made standard pie crust.

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Welcome To My Blog

My name is Monica and I'm a stay at home mom living in central Texas. I like to cook, but baking is my passion. I am an (obsessive) collector of cake stands, cookbooks and bakeware. I make lots of yummy treats and often share my sweet creations with friends, family and anyone else who is willing to be my guinea pig. I have lots of recipes in the archives so I hope you'll stick around for awhile!

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